Bizarre titles: The shortlist for the Diagram prize, which honors the oddest titles in publishing, has been released, highlighting books like How Tea Cosies Changed the World and How to Sharpen Pencils.

Lit on the small screen: Literature is hot on the small screen right now. HBO's adaptation of Parade's End premieres next week, and some of the book world's most celebrated authors are adapting their books for the same treatment. The Wall Street Journal reports that HBO has projects in development from Jeffrey Eugenides, Neil Gaiman, Tom Perrotta and Michael Chabon who said that with adapting a book for television, "The tapestry is so broad, it's like a 19th-century novel."